Around Town: An open letter to Sarah Palin

Dear Sarah: I hope you don't mind me calling you by your first name, but I feel as if I actually know you, plus I once shot an M-16.

I'm writing to ask you to please tell the Pasadena branch of the Tea Party to stay out of our local city council election.

Isn't the whole point of the Tea Party to restore local control? The website says that its mission is to "reaffirm the traditions and principles upon which the nation was founded, including a free market approach to economic vitality and prosperity, self determination and self reliance, personal responsibility and accountability and a prudent approach to governance and the common good."

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That's why I am shocked that the Tea Party in Pasadena has decided to endorse our candidates, and to do so without even interviewing them. (Maybe they don't know where La Cañada Flintridge is? Maybe they only endorse incumbents? Playing it safe?)

Right now, we La Cañada Flintridgians have enough on our plate, what with the ad horrendum, post-deluge news coverage, hours after the "all-clear" signal, which totally freaked out my friends and relatives from around the globe, and people telling us when and where to evacuate. Now we have to deal with outsiders horning in on our local city-council election, scheduled for March 8.

We have seven candidates for the three seats open on our City Council. They are:

Don Voss, incumbent

Laura Olhasso, incumbent

Mike Davitt (current planning commissioner)

James K. Hill (former planning commissioner)

Jacqueline Harris, R.N. (private citizen)

Robert Richter (private citizen)

Charles Kamar (private citizen)

The City Council is ostensibly non-partisan. Also, our town, La Cañada Flintridge, is not Pasadena. Despite this, last week, the Pasadena chapter of the Tea Party (TEAPAC), endorsed three candidates in our election.

And guess who they endorsed? Did they endorse Charlie Kamar (private citizen), a local resident and business owner of the Union 76 station, who believes in customer service in government? No!

Did they endorse Robert Richter (private citizen), a dedicated anti-sewer activist who says that City Hall should be more responsive? No!

Did they endorse any of the private citizens running in this local election on platforms about making local government more responsive?